Chasing Air
by yesiluvthestage
Summary: Bella never believed in fairytales. So when she settles down in Forks, vampires & shifters are the last things she expects to find. Even more unexpected? Falling in love with one of the creatures she grew to hate. EXTENDED SUMM. INSIDE! give it a chance?
1. Those Silly Things Called Emotions

**Alright, so I recently read this AMAZING Bella/Paul fic called 'Be Like Water' by Taoist elf. Seriously, it's great. I LOVE Paul's character, but most fics I read about him make him seem like…well…a sadistic womanizer with no soul. Which, I mean, I can see that in some light, but I also think Paul has a heart, and some kind of story. Be Like Water really nailed it and it inspired me to write my own B/P story. Moving on, this doesn't really fit into the timeline of the books. Bella moves to Forks, and then this story takes off from there. When she arrives, all the wolves that will become wolves are already wolves (Sam, Jared, Paul, Jacob, Seth, Leah, Quil, Embry, Collin, Brady). Renee and Charlie never split up. And the whole Cullen gang is here but…they aren't what you'd expect. That's all the back story you get for now! Enjoy!**

Extended Summary:

Renee Swan is a myth-chaser, dragging her poor husband Charlie and their daughter Bella all over the world to join her on her wild conquests. Bella has never believed a word of it and has come to resent it. Her life has been uprooted one too many times, so when Renee's latest venture-searching for vampires-brings them to Forks, Washington, Bella decides she's here to stay. She never expected that the legends about this place were _true._ So when a certain shifter imprints on her and they fall hopelessly for each other, a problem arises as her mother starts hunting the shifters…and threatening to expose their existence to the world. And on top of that, two of the non-vegetarian Cullens are out for Bella's blood. How will Paul manage to protect himself, his tribe, _and _the love of his life? Only time will tell. That's Chasing Air, for ya.

Prologue- _Those Silly Things Called Emotions_

_Isabella Swan,_

_God. Shit. What can I say that will express how damn sorry I am? You are without a doubt the best thing to ever happen to me and that's why I have to push you away now. I don't trust myself not to…do it again. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Falling in love with you was the easy part. Sending this to you, along with my heart, sealed up in a pretty little envelope like a goddamn third grader who doesn't have the nerve to tell this to your perfect face? This is what's difficult. I imagined it all, Bella. Getting to know every little 'insignificant' fact of your life. Meeting every single one of your distant relatives. Hearing every crazy story you've got to tell. Sharing my heart and soul with you. Marrying you. Living with you. Watching you…carry our children. Watching them grow up. Sitting on our porch sipping some shitty lemonade I attempted to make and watching our grandchildren mess around in the yard. Damn it, Bella, I could see it! And I __wanted__ it. More than anything else, I wanted it. But I can't…I can't watch you be in pain because of me. That's something I would never forgive myself for._

_ I want you to leave La Push, Bella. That's all I want now. That's all I can allow myself. I want you to leave and get the hell out of Washington. Get your ass somewhere bright and sunny. California, Florida, Texas, go back to Arizona for Christ sakes! Just whatever you do…don't tell me where you go. Because I swear to God I would chase after you. Who knows? Maybe in another life I'll see you again. Jesus. I don't know. But I want you to __go__, Bella. I'll always be desperately in love with you._

_Paul._

Bella set down the letter, tears glistening and slithering their way down her pristine, pale cheeks, fresh ones already being formed in her eyes. She swiped at them furiously, angry that his words had affected her this way. She was pissed. Pissed that he would try and make a decision this huge for her. She was under the impression that they were equal partners in their relationship-which meant he did _not _get to pull stupid shit like this. They were _going _to talk this through, damn it, whether he wanted to or not! She picked up her phone and called Jacob Black.

"Hello?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Jake! Is Paul around? He isn't answering his phone."

"Well, Bells, seeing as it's around midnight and Paul Harris does _not _in fact sleep in my bed, no, he's not around!" Bella rolled her eyes. Jake could be a real jackass when he was tired. Or hungry.

"Just cut the bullshit and tell me where he is," she huffed, frustrated beyond words. She heard Jacob sigh.

"I don't know, honey," he replied honestly. "He skipped town this afternoon."

Bella didn't hear the rest of what Jacob said. There was the low hum of his voice still yammering on as she dropped the phone to the floor. She watched her heart fall out of her chest and drop right along with it. 

She could keep herself from leaving. But, apparently, she couldn't stop Paul.

_The Beginning _

**A/N: So this is obviously from somewhere in the middle of the story, but the story begins next chapter. Short, I know, but that's what it is. Each chapter will be relatively 'short'-somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 words each, maybe a little bit more. I don't like putting in things just because, so I'll generally just get to the point most of the time. Alright well review here and when you're done, go read Be Like Water! I know this story doesn't seem like much so far, but it's going to be one crazy ride, so give it a chance! Want chapter one tomorrow? **


	2. The Parents' Creepy Love Triangle

**Enjoy!**

Chasing Air

Chapter One:

Bella didn't hate her mother.

Truly, she didn't. Renee was wild and crazy and had dragged Bella all over the goddamn world, but she didn't hate her. She couldn't. She honestly didn't think she could _help_ her obsession. Bella thought that deep in the recesses of Renee's mind she really believed that the world they lived in was one of fantasy-unicorns, leprechauns, dragons, werewolves…vampires. There was _nothing _that seemed too fantastic to Renee Swan. She had taken her family all over the place-Greece, Ireland, Mexico, South America. All over _everywhere._ After a certain amount of time in which Renee found absolutely nothing, the family would move on. Charlie…well, he hated seeing the love of his life torn up over something so…so preposterous. It broke his heart, seeing her fall apart every time she came up empty. But there was absolutely no reasoning with her. If you tried telling her to stop searching, settle down in one place…she lashed out. Freaked. Flipped shit. If you said the words 'there's no such thing'…well, her family knew better than to do something that silly.

The most recent dart on the map was Forks, Washington. Renee had done her research and knew that vampires couldn't go out in sunlight…at least, not without drawing some extreme attention. Where else would vamps hide out but in the rainiest place in the northern hemisphere?

_*()_*()

"Mom!" Bella called, racing down the stairs of their Mexican villa. It was a great house for them, large enough to be luxurious, but small enough not to be extravagantly so. They had spent the longest time they'd spent in any one place since Renee had been pregnant with Bella-eleven months. The latter had relished in the joys of spending so long in one place. She had made some friends, gotten close with some of her teachers, even had a 'usual' at most of the restaurants she visited. And she had let herself hope that just maybe, they would stay put this time. "Mom!" she shouted again, scouring the lower floor of the house before finding Renee in the kitchen- _not_ a good place for her to be. The woman was infamous for burning any edible thing she set eyes on, and her father wasn't much better. Bella had learned at a very early age how to get around a kitchen, no matter what country that happened to be in.

"Yes, sweetheart? Please don't yell," Renee murmured, putting together the last of three cold ham, cheese, and mayonnaise sandwiches.

"Do you have my passport?" Bella asked, breathing heavily from her excursion around the villa.

"Yes, dear, it's in my bag right over with our tickets," she gestured with her head towards the dining room table as she moved over to the sink to wash the utensils she had used before putting them in the last open box labeled KITCHEN: BOX FIVE and taping it closed. "Sandwich?" she asked, holding one out to Bella, who shook her head and tried not to look disgusted.

"I'll pass."

At that moment, Charlie Swan emerged from his bedroom, pushing the last of the boxes out on a dolly. They were all labeled CHARLIE'S ROOM. He and Renee hadn't slept in the same room since before Bella was born. They had gotten married because of Renee's pregnancy, and because Charlie was hopelessly in love with the woman. She, on the other hand, was merely complacent, needing someone to help facilitate her childish whims and costs of various medications. And hell, Charlie's juicy trust fund left to him by his late wealthy parents was good enough for that.

"That's the last of them, pumpkin," he said, swiping at his brow tiredly. He tried not to think about how, soon, the mail company would be here and he would have to help move the boxes _again _into the trucks so they could be shipped to Forks, Washington. Unlike most other places the small family had moved, Charlie was pretty excited about this one. He had been chosen-very happily, to be specific-by the retiring police chief to replace him after the move. It was a pretty sweet deal, really, except when Charlie thought about how in about six months, they'd be doing this same dance all over again. He loved his wife, but damn, could he catch a break?

_*()_*()

Bella smiled and settled into her seat. _Plane's about to take off. I'll be less than twenty miles away from your hometown by the end of the day. Love you, Jake. _She had known Jacob Black technically since she was born. She had heard stories of her father being best friends with Billy Black all through high school. All had been well until Charlie had knocked up Renee who was, er…Billy's girlfriend. The two men had hardly spoken until after college when they decided to resolve matters and became avid pen pals throughout all of The Swan Family Travels. When Bella was six, Charlie had gotten the bright idea to get her and Jacob (age nine) to keep in contact, just to give Bella some constant in her life. And boy, had it worked out. Jake was Bella's best friend and as consistent as the North Star.

_Love you, Bells. I'll be at the airport waiting to pick you up._

"Talking to Jake?" Charlie asked gruffly from beside his daughter. He wasn't much of a talker, but he couldn't seem to _butt out _when it came to Bella's relationship with Jacob. If he was being honest, he knew that them being _together_ together is what it would take to _truly _heal his and Billy's friendship.

"Yup," Bella said, picking through a magazine as the plane sprinted down the runway.

"Are you two…?" he trailed off suggestively and Bella put down the magazine, looking up long enough to roll her eyes dramatically.

"No, Dad, believe it or not I gave up on trying to have relationships a loooong time ago."

"Alright, alright. I'm just saying. I think the boy'd be good for you," Charlie said in surrender. _And that settles it,_ Bella thought. _Any boy dubbed 'good' by dad equals a big 'hell no' on my to-date list._

_*()_*()

"Oh, Belly Boo! Isn't this place fabulous!" Renee cheered excitedly as they exited the airport and headed out into the rain.

"Mmm. It's just to _die _for, Mom," Bella muttered sarcastically. Sunny Mexico? Yes. Cold-and-rainy Forks? _Kill me now, _she thought to herself, trying to peer through the sheets of rain for Jacob's Rabbit. She had never seen it, of course, but she had heard enough descriptions of the damn thing to put it together herself. Finally, through the pitter patter of raindrops, she heard a honk and a faded red truck pulled up by the curb right in front of her.

"Would this be the beautiful Isabella Swan?" a deep voice asked.

"Jake!" Bella cried, then looked over at her parents-Renee was staring obliviously across the parking lot, searching for the cab they had ordered, and Charlie was watching his daughter with an unfathomable expression. "Um," Bella said softly, nibbling on her lip, "I'm going to go to Jake's house and meet some people on the rez. I'll try to meet up with you guys at some point tomorrow." And she turned and got into Jacob's car.

"Wait, Bella!" Charlie called, leaning through the window and squinting at the pair of them. They both looked at him expectantly while he fumbled around for words. "You…you don't have your luggage to stay the night." She sighed and gestured to the backpack in her lap. "Oh, well then. See you later, Bella."

She didn't respond as she gestured for Jacob to step on it.

_*()_*()

"Wow, it's so nice seeing you in person as opposed to a photograph!" Bella exclaimed as the sped towards La Push. She took in his dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, that somehow managed to look light and cheerful at the same time.

"You, too! They really don't do you justice, Bells." He watched as her cheeks lit up in a beautiful crimson. "So, you're staying with me tonight, huh?" he asked, smirking and quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, right, about that…I didn't mean to intrude or-," she rambled until Jacob cut her off.

"Don't worry about it. We have so much catching up to do!"

And catch up they did. The two made small talk until they pulled up in front of Jacob's home, a quaint and cozy abode painted a cheerful yellow. Billy rolled out onto the porch, looking at Bella with cloudy eyes. He had forgiven Charlie, yes. But that didn't make it easy to watch the cause of his life's turmoil show up on his doorstep.

"Dad?" Jake asked, taking Bella's bag from her and jogging up the porch steps. "What's wrong?" he followed Billy's gaze to where Bella stood by the truck, looking nervous, uncomfortable, and a little ashamed-she had heard all about the Billy/Charlie drama.

"Nothing, son," Billy assured him, shaking his head and rolling back inside. "Nothing at all."

And Bella knew as she watched Jacob shrug it off that he had no idea about the history of their parents. Not a damn clue.

**A/N: yay, chapter one is out there! No, this is not Bella/Jacob. No, there will not be any Bella/Jacob at all. They are best friends, that's all. Bella may even help him hook up with a certain Leah Clearwater…? Oh, and we meet the pack next chapter. And you know who's in the pack? That's right. Paul. Review if you want it!**


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